Spring went and autumn came, cold and heat alternated. In the blink of an eye, over half a year had passed since that official road robber cultivator incident.
Inside and outside Qingxu Temple's mountain gate, the atmosphere that had once been taut to the extreme, with time's passage and the sect's continuous unremitting high-pressure vigilance, finally gradually relaxed. The number of patrolling disciples dispatched returned to normal levels, though patrol routes and hidden sentry settings became more scientific and concealed. Checks at the mountain gate, though still strict, no longer carried the sword-drawn, bow-bent meaning from the beginning. On the Merit Hall's task jade wall, most low-risk outbound tasks had also reopened, though enforcement disciples' reminders when receiving them were still indispensable.
Shadow Serpent Pavilion and whatever follow-up actions they might have taken seemed to have evaporated along with that batch of robber cultivators severely interrogated and executed by the enforcement hall, never again raising any obvious waves. That mysterious "bamboo-hatted man" also seemed to have vanished into thin air, no trace to be found.
On the surface, that storm caused by Tang Xiaoqi seemed to have calmed. Qingxu Temple again recovered its former tranquility and order. Disciples' focus of life returned to daily cultivation, tasks, and exchange.
During this relatively peaceful period, Tang Xiaoqi's life also seemed to return to some "normal track." He still shuttled daily between his own little courtyard and his master's cave dwelling, cultivating the "Everlasting Spring Art," learning alchemy and artifact refining basics, practicing sword techniques and spells, and at night unshakably conducting "heart-refining" on the frying pan.
His cultivation, through persistent bitter cultivation and massive resource accumulation, finally a month ago, as naturally as water flowing into a channel, broke through to the seventh layer of Qi Refining, formally stepping into late Qi Refining. The breakthrough process was calm and uneventful—thanks to the ample foundation laid by the "Everlasting Spring Art" and the jade pendant's assistance, he encountered no great bottleneck. His qi sea expanded again, the total amount and purity of spiritual power both rising a level, and his spiritual sense range also expanded to nearly twenty zhang. Though only a small realm increase in the Qi Refining stage, it meant his strength had a qualitative leap—employing spells was even more smooth and handy, and sustained combat ability was also stronger.
In alchemy, he could already stably refine lower-grade Fasting Pills and Qi Recovery Powder, even starting to attempt refining slightly more difficult "Hemostasis Powder" and "Heart-Clearing Pills," with success rate steadily improving. The "heart-refining" of that frying pan still progressed slowly, like a foolish old man moving mountains, but he could feel that subtle connection between himself and the pan was continuously deepening and consolidating. That dormant, meridian-like energy pathway within the pan body seemed to have an extremely small segment, under his day-after-day spiritual power warming, faintly showing signs of being "activated." Though faint to the point of almost being unusable, it was a heartening signal.
The rabbit spirit's changes also seemed to reach a plateau. Its spiritual intelligence was comparable to a ten-something-year-old child, and its speed was even more amazing—ordinary middle Qi Refining disciples probably couldn't capture its figure. It still came daily, sometimes bringing some fine low-grade spirit herbs, sometimes just quietly accompanying Xiaoqi to cultivate, as if becoming an indispensable part of this little courtyard.
Everything seemed to be developing in a good direction. Peaceful, fulfilling, even carrying an illusion of years passing peacefully.
However, deep in Xiaoqi's heart, he always remained clear-headed. He never forgot the Temple Master and his master's warnings, never forgot those possible hidden gazes like venomous snakes spying. The surface's calm waters might just be brief gasps before the storm, the enemy lurking even deeper.
This night, the moon was bright, stars sparse.
Xiaoqi finished the night's cultivation and "heart-refining" but didn't immediately sleep. He sat alone on the stone stool in the courtyard, his hand stroking that jade pendant worn close to his body, warm to the touch. Under moonlight, the jade pendant's surface flowed with imperceptible fluorescence, inside seeming to have clouds and mist swirling—mysterious and deep.
This jade pendant concerned his background, contained the "Source of Purification's" secret, was a source of fortune, and also a root of calamity. It had helped him escape danger several times, but also attracted Shadow Serpent Pavilion's covetousness.
His gaze also cast toward the kitchen corner, that frying pan appearing even blacker and quieter under the moonlight. This pan from his mother, seemingly ordinary, similarly hid extraordinariness, slowly awakening with his "heart-refining."
One jade pendant, one iron pan.
They were the riddle of his identity, the source of his power, and also the fuse of his crisis.
Xiaoqi's eyes, under moonlight's reflection, were clear and determined. This half-year of secluded cultivation not only improved his cultivation but also tempered his character. He was no longer that youth who would panic from exposing abilities, nor that disciple who could only rely on senior martial brother and sister's protection after encountering probes.
He knew he must become stronger faster. Strong enough to guard his own secrets, strong enough to face any challenge from the dark, strong enough to explore that past shrouded in fog.
"Not enough... still far from enough..." Xiaoqi muttered to himself, gripping the jade pendant tightly. Late Qi Refining was still only a beginning in this vast cultivation world. Only Foundation Establishment, and even higher realms, could one truly possess some right to speak.
He had a vague premonition that the present peace wouldn't last long. Shadow Serpent Pavilion absolutely wouldn't easily give up pursuing the Source of Purification. And Qingxu Temple, and even the entire righteous path cultivation world, seemed to be brewing an even greater storm with demonic forces. The little courtyard he was in was but a small boat at the edge of this massive vortex.
But this time, he would no longer merely drift with the tide.
He carefully stored the jade pendant, rising and walking to the kitchen, picking up that heavy frying pan. His fingers brushed over the cold and rough pan body, feeling that trace of weak spiritual resonance only he could detect.
"No matter what awaits in the future, I will walk on." His voice was light, yet carried unquestionable determination.
The night grew even deeper. Thick darkness shrouded the mountain ranges. Only the sect's formation nodes and the magical artifacts in patrolling disciples' hands scattered with points of light, like vigilant eyes in the darkness.
The storm was temporarily calm—only on the surface.
A deeper dark night was perhaps quietly approaching.
Xiaoqi stood in the courtyard, his figure merging into the night. Only those eyes were startlingly bright, as if already penetrating the darkness before him, looking toward that full of unknowns and challenges, yet also containing infinite possibilities and opportunities—Volume Two's journey.
(Volume One Complete)